Family bonds
by Kaya Jade
Summary: I am your sister, Mara."


All right, this is first of my attempts to give Mara a family of her own   
  
( I don`t mean her family with Luke because it is stable part of my   
  
stories ) - parents, siblings etc. Let me know what you think.  
  
Also apologies for my English. It`s not as good as it should be.  
  
Disc.: I own nothing. Everything belongs to George Lucas and authors   
  
of novels, this time I think Tim Zahn and K.J. Anderson. Don`t try to   
  
sue me. I have nothing = you`ll gain nothing . Got it?  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
The sunset on Kethran is one of the most beautiful things in the whole  
  
universe. You would have to see it for yourself to believe. It starts when  
  
the golden globe of Kethran`s sun goes down and changes its colour  
  
to red. There is one moment, lasting only few seconds, when these two  
  
colours join into a mass of living fire, golden-red sparks all over the sky.   
  
One evening I was heading to the balcony to watch it. I stopped when   
  
I saw Miranda already sitting in her chair watching it. I didn`t want to   
  
disturb her but she sensed me, as always. After all she was a Jedi Knight,  
  
just like my parents. But that was all I knew about them. Miranda had   
  
never told me more, just that they had been killed by the Emperor in an   
  
effort to save me from him. Since then Miranda looked after me and even   
  
started my training. Still, I wasn`t trained and knew nothing more about   
  
mum and dad.  
  
As I moved closer I could feel something was wrong but I knew better   
  
than ask. I knew she would tell me when it was time. So I sat into my chair   
  
to watch the sunset.  
  
"Beautiful, isn`t it?"Miranda suddenly asked. I nodded. "It has the same   
  
colour as your hair. As your mother`s hair."  
  
I was quiet. Miranda spoke so rarely about my mum and dad. I knew I had   
  
the same hair as my mum, golden-red mane, which I cut at a shoulder`s   
  
length. And that I had my father`s eyes, light-brown, almost yellow. That   
  
was where my middle name Amber came from. I`d seen their holos. They   
  
looked happy. They were happy until the Emperor came and they were   
  
killed by him.  
  
"Tara,"I looked at her. "There is something I need you to know,"she took   
  
a deep breath and I started to worry. "I`m dying,"she whispered.  
  
I sat there unable to move or say anything. Dying? It was impossible. She  
  
couldn`t have been. Couldn`t leave me. I had noone else. I shook my head.  
  
"You can`t be serious. You can`t die. There`s still so much left to teach   
  
me, to tell me. I don`t want you to die,"I felt tears in my eyes and wiped   
  
them away. "You`re the only mother I have had. I don`t want to be alone."  
  
"You will never be alone,"she looked at me. "You have Force with you.   
  
You are strong in it and for as long as you remember this, you`ll never be   
  
truly alone."  
  
"You have it too. Why don`t you use your healing abilities?"I asked.  
  
Miranda looked at me with something like pity.  
  
"I`m old and my time is coming. I won`t fight the will of the Force."  
  
"But.."I wanted to argue but Miranda silenced me with a raised hand.  
  
"Before I go I`ll tell you all about your parents so don`t interrupt me if   
  
you want to know,"I nodded and she continued. "Marcus and Tarintha   
  
Seldona were my best friends while I was a Jedi. They both were much   
  
stronger than me. I was just a librarian. They were fighters, especially   
  
Marcus with his temper,"she smiled as she remembered her long-dead   
  
friends. "I was at their wedding and when their first and second child   
  
were born,"I gaped. Two children? I had a sibling? Why had she never   
  
told me?  
  
Miranda looked at me and I could have seen tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"I`m sorry I`ve never told you about your sister. She was two years older  
  
than you and particurarly strong in the Force. Her midichlorian level was  
  
almost 12,000. You are strong, too but your midi-level is only 11,000. You  
  
were born after Palpatine had come to power and all Jedi were being killed.  
  
Two Force-strong children could have been either killed or made Emperor`s  
  
pawns and servants raised as Dark Jedi,"I almost didn`t breath. If my sister  
  
wasn`t here with me, was she killed or...?"When you were four, eight years  
  
after building of the Empire, your hideout was discovered. I came to take   
  
you and your sister to safety. But I was late. However, I managed to get   
  
you and ran away. Your sister wasn`t so lucky. Marcus and Tarintha fought   
  
the Emperor and Vader but they lost and your sister was taken away and   
  
I don`t know what happened to her then. I hid you here because Kethran   
  
is far away on Outer Rim. And since then, I`ve brought you up."  
  
Silence followed the story. I couldn`t see because of tears in my eyes. I   
  
had a sister who had been taken by the Emperor. Where was she now?   
  
Was she dead? I startled when Miranda touched my hand. I looked at her   
  
through my misty eyes.  
  
"The Emperor has been killed almost seven years ago. Recently he tried to   
  
come back as a clone but he was stopped by a young Jedi who is rebuilding   
  
the Order. His name is Luke Skywalker."  
  
"Skywalker?"I asked.  
  
"Son of Anakin Skywalker,"Miranda nodded. "From what I heard he is   
  
different from his father. Much calmer. Probably his mother heritage."  
  
I just nodded. I knew the story about how young Jedi Anakin Skywalker   
  
had fallen in love with beautiful senator Amidala from Naboo and how   
  
this forbidden love drove him to the Dark Side. But I didn`t know about   
  
them having a child. A question popped up in my mind. How much was there   
  
I didn`t know?  
  
"He`ll finish your training,"Miranda`s voice cut into my thoughts. "And   
  
he`ll help you find your sister. If she`s still alive,"she stood up and went   
  
inside. I followed her to her room. There she pulled a hidden lever and a   
  
door opened. Behind them lied a room with books, datadiscs and datapads,   
  
training drones and just about everything that was needed for Jedi training.   
  
I recognized some of the items there as I had used them in my training   
  
before. I looked at my mentor questioningly.  
  
"So much was lost in past,"she said with a sadness in her voice. "This is   
  
all I`ve managed to save from destruction. Books and datas include   
  
information about Jedi. Training methods, history, famous Knights. A bit   
  
from everything. You can take it to Skywalker. I know he lacks information   
  
about the Old Order. This may help him. Here,"she handed me a datadisc.   
  
"This contains everything about your family and sister. The coordinates   
  
for the Academy are locked in navi-computer on the ship. You should   
  
leave as soon as possible."  
  
"What do you mean?"I asked, confused. "Why?"  
  
She smiled at me and pulled me into a hug.  
  
"Forgive me for not telling you everything sooner."  
  
"There`s nothing to forgive. You did what you thought the best for me,"I   
  
said. "But I still don`t understand why I should leave soon."  
  
"My time has come,"I couldn`t believe it. So soon?   
  
"I...I thought we`d have more time."  
  
"I`m sorry. Complete your training and find your sister. You are strong,   
  
Tara. You`ll make it,"she stepped away from me. "May the Force be with   
  
you, my child."  
  
And then she dissolved into thin air! I just stared at the place she had   
  
just stood on and finally it dawned on me she was gone. My teacher, my   
  
friend, my mother. She was gone. Tears started to fall from my eyes and I   
  
didn`t bother to wipe them away.  
  
I didn`t know how long it took but finally I stopped crying. I looked around   
  
me and decided that the sooner I left, the better. I started to carry all of the   
  
things to the ship. It took me few hours and I had to use Force for heavier   
  
objects but when I was done I went to my room and packed my things. I   
  
needed something to keep my mind off the lost I had suffered and I didn`t  
  
want to stay on Kethran longer than necessary. Finally I sat into pilot`s   
  
chair and prepared for departure.  
  
One last time I looked at the place that had been my home for past 21 years.   
  
I imprinted the sight into my memory and then I left to never come back.  
  
When I set the coordinates for Jedi`s Academy - somewhere on Yavin 4 - I   
  
pulled out the datadisc Miranda had given me. I skipped the holos of my   
  
parents and found one of my sister. It must have been taken shortly before   
  
her kidnapping. From the picture two girls were smiling, both with the same   
  
hair. The younger one had brown eyes. That was me. The older one, my   
  
sister, had green eyes. She had her right hand enwrapped protectively around   
  
my shoulder and looked determined to prevent me from any harm. We were   
  
alike but there was something that looked dangerous about her. I noticed   
  
how she resembled our mother with the hair and eyes. I, on the other side,   
  
had our father`s eyes. But besides that she and I were almost like twins.  
  
I scrolled the picture down to look at inscription.  
  
Marina Jade Seldona and Tara Amber Seldona.  
  
"Marina,"I whispered. "My sister. I will find you. I promise. You`re the only   
  
family I am left. I won`t let you alone any longer,"I made the promise and I   
  
knew I`d do anything in my power to keep it. And no one would stop me.  
  
I looked at the stars flowing along the ship, bringing me closer to Yavin and   
  
to my heritage. This was the way the Force had chosen for me and I had made  
  
the first step to accepting it.  
  
So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Please leave a review so I`ll know.  
  
Thanks. 


End file.
